Summer, Fall Adventures in Big Bear

Reward yourself with a weekend getaway or vacation where you can let the rod and reel do the work or a boat or bike! Immerse yourself in one of Earth's Garden of Edens at Big Bear Lake in California. Explore with soft or extreme adventure in the Rocky Mountains in the San Bernardino National Forest on mountain bike trails or on horseback.
Explore the back country hiking the alpine trails or birding for downtime or get some extreme adventure ziplining, water skiing, kayaking, parasailing and more. Allow the thrilling adventures get your feet off the ground and take your breath away.
Feed your inner soul, re-energize with a spa treatment and revitalize your energy.
Enjoy Big Bear in any season; from sparkling summers, to crisp autumn colors and the magic of winter on the slopes.
Find out more here, www.NewTravelAdventures.com or here, www.Bigbear.com
From romantic getaways to family vacations, Big Bear is just a short drive away and offers lodging packages with free pre-paid Visa card deals. Travel to Big Bear this spring, summer or fall and we'll help pay for your trip. Those who stay at a participating lodge one or two nights get a $25 Visa card three or four night stays are good for $50 and five or more nights receive a $100 Visa card. Guests can spend the pre-paid Visa cards freely at any place that accepts Visa, such as dinner at a nice restaurant, a pontoon boat rental, tickets to an event or a shopping spree in the Big Bear Village. The free pre-paid Visa card promotion ends November 22, 2010. Restrictions may apply.

Touring the Everglades

A visit to the Everglades in Florida, is a must for everyone. At least, just once; come see what the Everglades is all about. It's a mosaic of sawgrass marshes, pine rockland forests, tropical hardwoood hammocks, mangrove swamps and coastal estuaries, unlike anywhere else on Earth. Unfortunately only about half of the original Everglades ecosystem remains. You can drive around part of the Everglades and there is even a driving map with highlights, the Everglades Trail. You can view a list of the sites (20 in all) here and download a map to print and take with you (http://www.evergladestrail.org/trail_map.htm).
The headwaters of the Everglades actually begins in Orlando (near Shingle Creek) and meanders a slow, stream downward to the Gulf and the Keys. This area is known to the west as 10,000 Islands. There are actually several state and National parks that encompass parts of the Everglades; The Everglades National Park, Collier-Seminole State Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and Biscayne National Park.
Throughout this wonderful vast ecosystem you will find some trails for hiking and biking, as well as camping and of course, paddling. You can enjoy fishing, birding, photography and learning about the more than 300 birds that call the Everglades home. These places are great for visiting again and again for a long weekend, or a week at a time.
Accommodations come in the form of primitive camping, to campsites, hostels and of course, regular hotel rooms and other lodging. There are several places where you can get guided tours, in relation to paddling and fishing, or nature tours.
My personal favorite happens to be with Captain Charles Wright with Everglades Area Tours, you can find them via website and also on Facebook. www.Evergladesareatours.com or 239-695-3633. They are a wealth of information and offer a variety of excursions from; eco tours, bicycling, hiking, sea kayak tours, day trips, overnight camping, sunset tours and guided fishing trips. Please tell them Loretta Lynn sent you and says Hi! they are located south of Naples & Marco Island in Everglade City.
Although you might be hard pressed to find any guide during the summer for regular kayaking as the mosquitoes will carry you off, boat and all!
Be sure and spend some time just walking around the area to really get a sense of what a jewel we have here. Don't speed down Alligator Ally at 60 miles per hour, or you will miss what the Everglades is all about.

Jekyll Island

As you drive across the bridge, you can almost feel yourself stepping back in time. Don't be surprised when you witness men and women dressed in fine attire on the front lawn. They are partaking in the tournament play of croquet. As the mallet chucks the ball through metal rings, you can circle the lawn and admire the brick, old-style mansion. A playground for the rich, from a private hunting club to a state park gem. From tee time to tea time, this 240-acre, riverfront compound is a National Historic Landmark District and one of the largest ongoing restoration projects in the southeastern United States. 

A romantic getaway for couples, a respite, or girl-friends or guy weekend retreat, you will never be bored with this line up: fishing, boating, kayaking, biking, tennis, golf, birdwatching, soccer, camps for kids and more! Feel as though you are one of the America's elite families on winter retreat when you visit. As you will be treated with the hospitality as royalty.

After a rousing game of tennis, or hiking on the trails, meander over to the Cafe on the Wharf for a fresh, fruity, frozen beverage. After a refreshing repast, explore the grounds in the Pier Roads shops or the Historic District for treasures for sale. Or seek out hidden cache with a high-tech GPS for geocaching on the island. 

In addition to the beautiful grounds, also a resting place for migrating birds on the Atlantic Flyway, and architecture, I loved the loggerhead turtle rehab facility. The island is a major site for conservation and education.

Jekyll Island is also a superb location for business retreats with the only distractions coming from your participants anxious to enjoy Jekyll Islands paradise of sea fishing or sailing.

Visit them now.. while gas prices are still going down! Worth the drive! www.jekyllisland.com

On the Flly (fishing)

  Casting a line in or around Springfield, or in the Ozarks is inspiring. Relax and reel 'em in at Dogwood Canyon. To get started you might need to brush up on which fish are biting and the bodies of water in the area from the pros at Bass pro, while you're there you can pick up some fishing and hunting tackle and perhaps some bug spray and sunscreen.

  Do you need to practice your casting technique? Dogwood Canyon is the place to cast, hook and reel in beautiful trout. Snap your flies near attractive waterfalls, under bridges and along fast moving streams where you can catch and release or keep your prize. Novice anglers can take a private lesson from one of the guides and become a pro in no time. Bike paths meander through part of this beautiful 2,200 acres of nature park for kids of all ages. Explore a slice of paradise on a Guided Tram tour where you can see an Indian Burial Cave and the Great Spirit Rock Shelter, limestone bluffs and clear spring-fed waters and through the rugged canyon to see bison, elk and longhorn. Rustic, yet modern cabins are available for rental of groups (www.dogwoodcanyon.com) 

    I visited in early spring and all the colour was not yet flourishing, however you can easily visualize the beauty of the area. Best of all, I was finally learning to fly-fish. And yes,  I caught those fish not my guide. He just brilliantly showed me where to fish and how to snap my wrist to cast where the trout can be found. Cool, crisp, clean water flows freely, tumbling over rocks and branches, under bridges and over falls spilling bright, colorful trout.